9-year-old girl becomes first transgender to be on the cover of National Geographic

A young girl is gracing the cover of National Geographic magazine, and this is not the first time.

However, the 9-year-old girl wearing pink on the January edition has one big difference that sets her apart from the other girls – she is transsexual.

The special issue titled, "The Gender Revolution," chose to feature Avery Jackson, a young trans girl from Kansas City to grace the cover. Her image is accompanied with the quote, "The best thing about being a girl is, I don't have to pretend to be a boy."

Avery becomes the first transgender to grace the cover of the magazine in its 128-year history.

The fourth grader lived as a boy until 2012. Her mom, Debi Jackson, recalls Avery speaking out about being a boy on the outside and a girl on the inside, which marked the beginning of her fearless transformation.

Avery told USA TODAY she was excited about appearing on the cover because, "By putting myself more out there, people will be able to know that I am transgender and proud and proud and learn more about transgender issues."

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